The Calgary, Canada-based company, which hopes its shares will be listed on the over-the-counter market, is unusual in making a public offering. Early-stage companies normally rely on venture capitalists to get off the ground.
However, it is doubtful whether a VC would put any money into Sprout on the strength of its SEC filing. The company has not yet developed a product, and research into the potential market has simply consisted of web searches.
We are currently devoting 100% of our human resources to the development and approval of this prospectus and, due to the lengthy approval process, we do not expect to begin any product development until after the effective date of this prospectus, said the company.
Potential investors will have to be patient. The Sprout Development system is not developed at this time, there are no ‘beta’ versions available, and Sprout Development does not expect that the system will be functional until at least 6 months after the effective date of this prospectus, it said.
All Sprout consists of is an idea for its system. It acknowledged: We are attempting to create a commercially viable product based on a yet undeveloped software concept.
Sprout aims to bring software into the delicate area of human relationships and is unflinching about making an emotional plea. It feels collaboration software may help keep children from feeling trapped between the two people they love the most.
This is where collaboration software comes in. Instead of exposing children to potential arguments where parents say things they don’t mean and later regret, messages can be composed in a non-hostile setting and pondered before the submit button is pressed, all outside the earshot of their children. And by addressing issues as they arise rather than letting them pile up, parents can help circumvent heated discussions caused by having too many topics to discuss during a limited time period, the company said.
It admitted that collaboration software can be used as a weapon by divorced parents if they choose not to put their children first. But by using the software to plan events ahead of time and to communicate about parenting responsibilities, the chance for hostile interactions can be reduced, parents can be better organized, and children can be kept out of the middle, it said.
The Sprout package will have a calendar module that allows the divorced parents to create and view their children’s schedule on the internet. Any changes made to the calendar by either parent will trigger an email, text message, or pager message to the other parent to indicate that change.
